FAA investigating two Lehigh County plane accidents

This four-seat airplane crashed while taking off at Queen City Airport in Allentown on Monday afternoon, April 6, 2015. A 10-foot cyclone fence caught the aircraft just 20 yards before it would have rolled out onto Interstate 78.

This four-seat airplane crashed while taking off at Queen City Airport in Allentown on Monday afternoon, April 6, 2015. A 10-foot cyclone fence caught the aircraft just 20 yards before it would have rolled out onto Interstate 78.

Crews responding to second aviation accident of the day in Lehigh Valley

The skies were clear and the weather was near perfect Monday for the first time in months, which makes the wreck of two small private planes three hours apart even more bizarre, local authorities said.

One plane came down about 1 p.m. during takeoff from Queen City Airport in south Allentown, skidding through a field until it hit a cyclone fence that kept it from going onto busy Interstate 78, officials said.

"Without the fence, I'm not sure the plane would have been able to stop before reaching the road," said Charles Everett Jr., executive director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority. "We're glad there were no injuries."

The other plane slid down a runway just before 4 p.m. at Lehigh Valley International Airport after it descended and its landing gear malfunctioned, officials said.

No one was hurt in that accident either; the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating both. Everett said they appear to be related to equipment problems.

A small plane with landing gear issues crashed at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Monday afternoon. It was the second aviation accident in the Lehigh Valley on Monday.

A small plane with landing gear issues crashed at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Monday afternoon. It was the second aviation accident in the Lehigh Valley on Monday.

The airport authority runs Queen City Airport and LVIA, which is in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, and Braden Airpark in Forks Township.

At LVIA, Everett said, a Cherokee 140 single-engine plane had problems with its landing gear and slid down a runway. The plane is owned by Ace Pilot Training, based out of the airport, and is used in flight training, Everett said.

"It tried to make a landing," Everett said. "Without the landing gear, it was unable to make it down the runway."

He said he didn't know the extent of the damages to the plane, other than to its landing gear. Everett said there was no fuel spill or fire. Dispatchers initially reported an injury in the wreck, but Everett said no one was hurt.

This four-seat airplane crashed while taking off at Queen City Airport in Allentown on Monday afternoon, April 6, 2015. A 10-foot cyclone fence caught the aircraft just 20 yards before it would have rolled out onto Interstate 78.

(Harry Fisher)

About three hours earlier, a four-seat Mooney M20J crashed while taking off at Queen City Airport, but the pilot and his passenger escaped unharmed, Everett said.

The plane experienced engine trouble moments after takeoff, and the pilot set the craft down in the grass just beyond the end of the nearly 4,000-foot runway, Everett said.

The plane skidded down an incline, where a 10-foot cyclone fence that marks the perimeter of the airport caught the aircraft just 20 yards from I-78, Everett said.

"It looks like he was trying to take off when he had engine trouble," Everett said, adding the plane sustained major damage to its nose and both wings.

The pilot and passenger were not immediately identified, but the plane is believed to be based at LVIA. Both men were walking around after the 1 p.m. accident, according to scanner reports.

Allentown Fire Capt. John Christopher said the plane had minor damage, none to its fuel tank.

Christopher said the airport continued normal operations. According to scanner reports, another plane almost landed on an Allentown police cruiser that was on the runway investigating the wrecked plane.